New Indiana Parenting Time Guidelines - A Work In Progress

Previously we posted on the Domestic Relations Committee's review of the Indiana Parenting Time Guidelines. There was a public hearing regarding the Guidelines and many people presented their thoughts and proposed revisions. To discuss this further please contact me.

For the most current Parenting Time Guidelines click here.

The Domestic Relations Committee's minutes have a list of topics presented at the hearing being reviewed. Here they are:

1. Not blindly following the parenting time guidelines (PTG);
2. Whether there should be a 50/50 presumption of parenting;
3. Guidelines addressing a special needs child;
4. Adding a glossary of terms;
5. Enforcement of parenting time on behalf of the noncustodial parent if parenting time denied by the custodial parent or on behalf of the custodial parent if the child must wait for the noncustodial parent to pick up the child or sporadic parenting time with a child focus on either situation;
6. Better and more quantifiable measures to determine enforcement issues, better tools for enforcement of parenting time issues and quicker determination of parenting time issue;
7. Prevention of any changes to the use of the PTG in domestic violence situations; stepparent issues; and alienation issues.

Additionally, the committee has set out a list of provisions of the current PTG's that are being revised as well as the committee member(s) responsible for drafting and the draft due date.  They are:

1. Holiday schedule Schurger/Lynch July 16, 2010;
2. Weekends generally/three weekends Schurger/Lynch July 16, 2010;
3. Summer vacation Lynch/Fee July 16, 2010;
4. Opportunity for Additional Parenting Time Murray/Love August 20, 2010;
5. Scheduled Parenting Time To Occur as Planned Love/Fee October 22, 2010;
6. Enforcement of Parenting Time/Enforcement Love/Fee October 22, 2010;
7. Presume More Time for Noncustodial Parent (overnights for infants) Raduenz/Young/Fee Nov. 18-19, 2010;
8. Equal Parenting Time Raduenz/Young Nov. 18-19, 2010;
9. Distance, Out-of-state Parenting Time Bobay/Hill Nov. 18-19, 2010;
10. Transportation issues in state Bobay/Hill Nov. 18-19, 2010;
11. Family Violence/Child Abuse Bobay/Hill January 21, 2011;
12. One parents speaks negative of other/Alienation Shook/Stalbrink January 21, 2011;
13. Communication generally/communication about education/Medical/ Virtual parenting time Shook/Stalbrink January 21, 2011;
14. PTG helps plan ahead/use of calendar/tone of  cooperation Fee/Hill Feb. 18, 2011;
15. PTG for special needs child(ren) Fee/Hill Feb. 18, 2011;
16. Relocation Bobay March 18, 2011; and
17. Make up time Bobay.

The committee is certainly reviewing many of the issues we see in our cases.  What have they missed?  What do you think are the most important important changes to make?  Please email me and I'll post regarding the feedback I receive.

Are the kids losing and the lawyers winning?

Are your kids losing and the lawyers winning?
Parties in ‘high conflict’ custody or parenting time situations express that they sometimes feel that the children are suffering while legal costs are growing. The reason for this is a combination of many factors.

Despite the best efforts of the attorney and judges involved the court system is not well positioned to offer relief to parents trying to manage day to day conflict. The attorneys must position to prepare their cases for trial, not only reach agreements. In this role the attorneys and parties are adversaries. This is often not the best environment to resolve problems related to, for example, ’who pays for the soccer cleats’, or 'what time should the kids go to bed on a school night.'

An option in these cases is to have a parenting coordinator appointed by the court. A parenting coordinator can be thought of as a ‘referree of reasonableness.’ Many times the parenting coordinator is trained in social work, psychology and/or law. The parenting coordinator is paid for by the parents.

Practically speaking, the parenting coodinator is more accessible than the judge to resolve disputes. If the parents option is to pay for attorneys to litigate, the parenting coordinator comes at a much cheaper price tag.

For more on this topic visit saifseminars.

New pages added to blog

This is a posting to direct your attention to some new pages added to the blog.

There is a separate page devoted to real estate and housing resources. If you are looking for temporary furnished housing there are some links that might be helpful. Also, the links to the county assessor's offices, MIBOR and sales information can be helpful if you are looking to purchase or sell a home.

There is a separate page with links to the school data. Especially in relocation cases, school comparison's are important.

There are also separate pages with video resources and author contact information.

The pages are seen as "tabs" along the top of the blog, just under the title.